


Coming to Terms

by wreckitwrex



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - School, Bullying, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-02
Updated: 2012-08-15
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:40:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/476178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wreckitwrex/pseuds/wreckitwrex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being shoved into your locker is a new experience for you, as is being tripped, having your books knocked out of your hand, and having your bag taken and used as a ball for a hilarious game of monkey in the middle, with you being the monkey of course. You have always thought that clichéd bullying like this was a thing that only happened in television shows and that it didn’t actually happen in real life to that kind of exaggerated degree. Turns out you’re wrong about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snubbed

The first time you heard a southern accent, you laughed because you thought it was funny; it sounded so different from what you were used to.  
  
It isn’t funny anymore, not when you’re the one that sounds different from everyone else. As soon as you open your mouth everyone knows that you aren’t from around here, as if your thick-framed glasses and ridiculous rat teeth aren’t a huge enough sign that says you’re ripe for the picking.  
  
Being shoved into your locker is a new experience for you, as is being tripped, having your books knocked out of your hand, and having your bag taken and used as a ball for a _hilarious_ game of monkey in the middle, with you being the monkey of course. You have always thought that clichéd bullying like this was a thing that only happened in television shows and that it didn’t actually happen in real life to that kind of exaggerated degree. Turns out you’re wrong about that.  
  
You guess it isn’t so bad though as you slide into your seat for your first class of your first day attending public school. It is unpleasant, yes, but it is also livable, and given that you practically begged and pestered your dad to let you go here instead of enrolling you into another private school from the instant you learned that he was being transferred to the office in Houston, you have no right to complain.  
  
You open your notebook and start to busy yourself with writing the date and your name on the first page in big neat letters out of a lack of anything better to do. John Egbert. Staring at your handiwork, you make a face because god, even your name is lame.  
  
Shaking your head, your eyes flicker upward as you hear a familiar voice, immediately recognizing the way the words flow from his mouth smooth as ever. Sure enough, you spot that blonde head of hair and the big round shades that you gave him for his birthday and you feel the corners of your lips pulling into a huge grin.  
  
“Dave!” You shout out his name to call his attention, unable to stop yourself since you’ve been so psyched to actually see him in person.  
  
Dave tilts his head ever so slightly in your direction, his face completely devoid of any emotion, as per usual when he’s putting up his cool kid front, and you start smiling even more. It’s enough to make your face hurt to the point that it gets uncomfortable, but that’s just how happy you are so you really can’t help it! You wait, expecting him to come over but your smile falters when Dave walks right past you without giving you a second glance.  
  
Oh. Your face gets all hot because wow, how embarrassing it is to be totally blown off like that in front of everyone else. You bow your head down and curl in on yourself a little. You’re sure that there must’ve been some reason why. You’ll just have to try again later.  
  
You try again, multiple times.  
  
He ignores you each and every time.  
  
By the time school lets out you’re completely put off. You don’t even try to see if you can catch Dave for a minute by the lockers, instead just heading straight outside and waiting by the curb for your dad to pick you up.  
  
The sun beats down on you pretty quickly, no thanks to your dark hair that was just perfect for absorbing all the heat that the sun could throw at you. It would take a while to get used to it, especially since the weather up in Washington was cool and often rainy. If it was a bright and sunny day it was a blessing, but now it’s more like a curse. It feels like ages until you see your dad’s silver car stop in front of you and you waste no time in opening the door. You throw your bag onto an empty seat carelessly before hopping in, a wave of relief washing over you as you’re blasted with the cool air conditioning.  
  
“How was your day, son?” Dad wastes no time in asking, waiting until you have buckled yourself in before starting to drive. After all, safety’s always first with him.  
  
You take a moment to answer as you press your face up against the cold glass of the window and look outside with disinterest. “Okay.”  
  
It’s not enough to satisfy your dad, you can tell right away by the way his eyebrow raises and how he turns his head toward you when he catches a red light as if he’s expecting you to elaborate. Of course he is, it’s strange of you to give a one worded response like that. Back at home you’d spend the whole car ride just telling him every single thing that happened throughout the day.  
  
“I mean, it was different. Talk about culture shock, wow.” You add with a nervous laugh. Immediately Dad relaxes and puts on a warm smile for you.  
  
“Ah, well of course. It’s going to take a bit to get used to living here but with time you’ll get used to it. Just because it’s different doesn’t mean that it’s bad, I’m sure you’ll adapt to your new surroundings in no time.”  
  
He goes on talking about the move and adjusting to the change and you know it’s rude but you just kind of tune him out as your mind goes back to earlier. You try to pretend that it doesn’t bother you as much as it does, but deep down you know that you are really upset by the way Dave treated you, so you end up spending the rest of the car ride trying to come up with some kind of reason as to why he would do something like that to make yourself feel better about it. Nothing that you could think of is good enough.  
  
It doesn’t take long for your dad to pull up in the garage. A part of you is reluctant to get out of the car and get assaulted with the heat again, but it’ a short walk to the house and you it will be just as cool in there so you man up, unbuckle yourself, and head inside.  
  
Your father follows you in, saying something about having a surprise for you, and as soon as the smell of freshly baked sweets attacks your nose you wish you’d stayed in the car for a bit longer.  
  
“Gee, you didn’t have to go through all that trouble, Dad! Really my first day of school here isn’t that big of a deal. But you know as great as that cake smells I’m actually really tired so I’m just going to crash in my room for now. Maybe I’ll have some later!” The words are strained but you never have the guts to tell him that you really don’t care for his sweets, or any sweets at all for that matter.  
  
Before your Dad has a chance to respond you’re already in your room, thankful that the smell hadn’t permeated through the cracks of the door; that would’ve been unfortunate. Flopping on your bed you pull out your laptop, which has been so generously given to you by your father who, despite how annoying he can be sometimes, is the best dad you could’ve ever ask for. Attempting to take your mind off of things, you check out some forums.  
  
In the short amount of time it takes for your computer to start up you manage to space out a little, only brought back to earth when the ping of pesterchum alerts you that you’ve got a new message.  
  
\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 3:47 --  
  
TG: sup  
  
You frown and before you can stop it you feel your chest tighten as anger bubbles up inside of you.  
  
EB: oh! so i guess now that we’re both deep within our rooms far from prying judging eyes of our peers and your reputation isn’t at stake you decide to talk to me!  
EB: you know for some reason i thought you weren’t a big enough of a douche to pull something like that but i guess i was wrong.  
TG: woah what are you talking about  
TG: you know you seem pretty steamed up about something youve only been in texas for how long now and the heats already getting to you  
EB: oh haha very funny!  
EB: i’m practically pissing my pants now from how hilarious that is!  
EG: you know exactly what i’m talking about dave but i’ll spell it out for you anyway since i feel like you’re just going to keep on trying to beat around the bush.  
EB: and i’m very upset with you! i mean at first i guess i was kind of shocked that you would do something like that but now i’m like wow way to be a dick to ignore me like that all day.  
EB: if you thought you were too cool to be seen with me at school you should’ve just told me so that i could’ve went to a private school like my dad wanted me to.  
EB: but for some reason up until today you seemed like you were actually pretty psyched for me to be going to the same school as you and i was too!  
EB: so what gives?  
TG: wow youve really got your panties in a bunch over this huh egderp?  
TG: didnt know you were craving my attention so badly  
TG: but get your facts straight before you blow up at me and put me in the doghouse  
TG: its like you come home and you find your livingroom is totaled and in the middle of the huge mess of fallen furniture and shit you find me waggling my tail so you automatically assume that i was being naughty and wrecking your shit  
TG: so you start yelling at me and lock me up outside when really an earthquake happened that caused all the furniture to fall and i was innocent the entire time  
TG: way to be an asshole john  
TG: locking up your sweet lil pup outside for nothing  
TG: cuz i wasnt ignoring you  
EB: wow do you smell what i’m smelling?  
EB: this conversation just reeks of your bullshit and i’m not having it!  
TG: dude weve been friends for like how long now  
TG: if you were too dorky for my standards believe me you would know  
EG: then what’s the deal?  
TG: do you trust me  
EB: what?  
TG: its a simple yes or no question  
TG: you dont have to write me an essay or anything about the meaning of trust or some shit like that  
TG: just yes or no  
TG: do you trust me  
EB: um...well, yeah i guess.  
TG: then believe me when i say it isnt what you think  
EB: why won’t you just tell me what it is then?  
TG: shits complicated  
TG: listen i gotta go bro just got home and he promised me he was gonna take me to mickey ds cause ive been craving some mcnuggies  
TG: ill chat with you later  
EB: wait!  
  
\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 4:11 --  
  
\-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 4:11 --  
  
EB: ugh!  
EB: damnit dave!  
  
\-- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 4:12 --  
  
You roll your eyes before closing the window. Surprisingly you’re not that upset with him anymore. Of course the question of what exactly is going on is ever so present on your mind but you do trust him. You know that much so if there’s a good reason then you’ll find out soon enough. You think it’s a bit strange how all your anger just totally dissipated like that, but it’s a good thing. You really don’t like being mad at your best friend, which is probably why you jumped at the chance to give him the benefit of the doubt.  
  
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful and you wind up going to bed with a pretty good feeling that the next day is going to be a whole lot better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is really… it's like he's a whole nother person than the one you've been talking to all this time. It’s weird because you’ve seen him plenty of times before through video chats and the like but actually having him right in front of you is something completely unlike what you've expected.

The rest of the week is pretty much uneventful, and you have to give your Dad credit because after a few days you already find yourself used to how things are going to be from now on just like he said you would. With each day that passes by the kids get a little meaner, push you a little harder. Again you hardly mind, even when you end up with a bloody nose and broken glasses. It’s no big deal. You just hope that they won’t keep on trying harder to get a rise out of you, if that’s what their goal is.  
  
You almost feel like you should thank them even, because the nurse is really nice and waaaaay too attractive to be working at a public school. You’re not complaining though, nope not at all. She gives you her name when you come in, in a soft sweet voice that matches her pretty face, but you’re a bit too busy checking her out and trying to keep your eyes on her face and not on her breasts to remember it. It’s a challenge though because wow, they must’ve been at least c’s.  
  
You have to remember it’s important to be a gentleman and to respect women, that’s a lesson your father has taught you since you were young. You’re a growing boy though, so it’s kind of really hard to keep your hormones in check when she’s so close to you as she patches you up. Thankfully it’s not long before she sends you out on your way.  
  
A bit dazed from either the loss of blood from your nose or the stunning, too-good-to-be-true nurse, you make your way over to your locker. The school day’s almost over so there’s no point in returning to class just to have to leave in a few minutes. You put away the books you won’t need during the weekend with a small smile on your face. Thank God It’s Friday.  
  
You pause as you hear the bell for the end of class ring loud and clear through the empty hallways. It’s a little hard to admit but you’re a bit nervous. Dave has invited you to hang out with him after school. You guess it’s because he feels bad about what went on a couple of days ago, but you just can’t be sure with him. There are a lot of things you don’t know about him for someone you claim to be best friends with; you realize as much the more you observe him during school hours.  
  
He is really… it's like he's a whole nother person than the one you've been talking to all this time. It’s weird because you’ve seen him plenty of times before through video chats and the like but actually having him right in front of you is something completely unlike what you've expected.  
  
For one, you quickly notice that it isn’t just you that he doesn’t talk to. He hardly talks to anyone, and when he does open his mouth he does a lot of mumbling. You find it so strange to hear him talk like that, since his voice lacks all the confidence it has when you guys are in your rooms talking one-on-one on when you’re on video chat. It’s also hard to ignore that Dave isn’t the hotshot in school that you thought he’d be, but you figure that it’s possible be extremely popular on the internet without being actually cool in the real world.  
  
You decide to head outside before everyone starts to pour out of the classrooms, since you and Dave agreed to meet up a few blocks away from the school anyway. You initially suggested meeting up at either one of your lockers, but for some reason he wasn’t too keen on the idea. That’s fine, though; you really don’t care even if you think his aversion to being around you at school is still odd.  
  
When you get there you immediately seek out some kind of shade. If there’s anything in Texas that you’ll probably never get used to, it’s definitely the heat. You press yourself against the side of the building to fit into the small area of shade it provides before wiping the sweat from your face with your shirt.  
  
Thankfully, Dave doesn’t keep you waiting too long, and after a few minutes you spot him strolling over to you with his hands shoved in his pockets. “Ready to roll, Egbert?”  
  
“I’ve only been ready my entire life. What took you so long?” You joke, feeling a little satisfied with yourself when you’re rewarded with a faint smile.  
  
“Yeah? I’d personally go so far as ta say we’ve been ready since before we were born, our souls connected by the indestructible string of fate. Forever tied to each other, our destinies entertwined.” He responds with a straight face. If you didn’t know him you probably would’ve thought that he was serious, but since you know that he isn’t you’re able to roll your eyes, a stupid grin on your face as you shake your head.  
  
“Are we going to go or are we going to stand around here talking about dumb destiny shit until the sun burns us to a crisp?”  
  
“Hey, if that happens at least we’ll be able to enjoy a nice eternity with each other in the afterlife. You can pull a ton’a shitty pranks on the living while I’ll just chill back and use my ghostly powers to send phallic messages from the beyond; kids’ll pick up a Ouija board expecting some kind of deep shit but all they’ll get are dicks.”  
  
A little giggle escapes your mouth before you can stop it. It’s a little embarrassing, so to get him back you playfully punch him in the arm while looking away, your cheeks burning a little uncomfortably. “Dave, you always take things a little too far!” You try to sound serious, but the smile still on your face easily gives you away.  
  
He just shrugs a little. “A’ight, let’s go.” He casually starts walking off and you reluctantly move out of the shade to go and follow him.  
  
“Where are we going anyway?” You guys have talked about hanging out, but that’s how far the plans went. Since Dave had made the plans with you, you just figured that he had something in mind.  
  
“Shh, just follow me.” He replies with a smug smile that really suits him. You decide not to press anymore and comply, a little thankful for the comfortable silence that falls between you because it’s too hot to be carrying out a conversation anyway.  
  
He leads you inside an apartment building and when you’re taking the elevator and he pushes the button for the top floor, it doesn’t take you long to realize that he’s taken you back to his place. You start to shift a little in place out of excitement; you’ve seen the inside of his room plenty of times but you really want to see how the rest of the apartment looks.  
  
“Bro’s probably sleeping so try not to make too much noise when we get inside. He gets cranky and moody as fuck when he’s woken up.” Dave’s voice kind of snaps you out of your thoughts and you give him a nod of acknowledgement as the elevator pulls to a stop and the doors open.  
  
Glancing around curiously, you follow him out of the elevator and wait anxiously as he opens the door, not entirely sure what to expect. You see Dave walk in ahead of you and you take a moment before you follow him inside the apartment, making sure to close the door behind you quietly before crinkling your nose as you’re hit with the heavy smell of alcohol.  
  
It isn’t like you exactly knew what it smells like, but you just assume that’s what it is since there are beer cans littering the floor alongside the plush toys with the huge asses. And sure enough there is a large man snoring loudly on the couch; Bro. You take a moment to look him over since you’re curious as to what the man your best friend practically worships is like, but honestly he isn’t that cool in person either. You kind of knew that he was lame even before this, if the shitty anime sunglasses that he inspired Dave to wear weren’t a big enough clue, the puppet porn thing was.  
  
“Yo Egbert, are you done ogling my Bro yet?” Dave asks, his head sticking out from his room as he stares at you through the not-so-shitty totally awesome and authentic shades you gave him for his birthday just last year. “I know he’s the hottest thing since sliced bread but we’ve got some serious chillin’ to do.”  
  
“Shut up! I wasn’t ogling him, geez! I can’t be a little curious about who you live with?” You hiss back at him before hurrying over toward his room, tripping a little a few times over the junk lying around but all in all making it over there in one piece.  
  
When you get there, Dave opens the door a bit wider and does some kind of overdramatic sweeping gesture for you to come in. “Welcome to my room, Egbert, be careful not to cream yourself on the way in. People stand in lines and go through extreme lengths to be invited to my room so you better feel special.”  
  
You roll your eyes once again as you step inside the room. “Like who? Last time I checked you weren’t Mr. Popular, not even close from what I’ve seen.” You decide to tease him a little but after seeing the way he tenses up and turns away from you, you immediately regret it.  
  
“Stfu.” He grumbles, closing the door before going to plop himself down on the bed. “You’re a dick, you know that?”  
  
“Oh please,” You start as you take a seat down on his bed next to him, not doing much looking around since you’ve seen his room plenty of times before and it’s nothing new. “Don’t take offense so easily. Like what does a statement like that mean from me? I mean sure, you’re not on the top of the school’s social ladder but at least you’re not ending up with bloody noses. I feel like the next thing they’re going to do is throw me in the dumpster or something.”  
  
“You’ve been here for like a week and you think you know everything when it comes to how this school works. You don’t know shit all so best shut your trap,” He snaps back at you, his lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m warning you, Egbert. Don’t go around talking crap you don’t know about.” You can tell from his voice that he’s pretty upset and you understand that taking a jab at him like that wasn’t the best idea, but you can’t fathom why it’s getting him this worked up. You’re about to say something when he starts talking again. “Kids down here are tougher than you think. This sure as hell ain’t your prissy boy private school all the way up in Seattle.”  
  
“Well duh, I think I realized that as soon as I walked through the doors the first time.” You retort, frowning a little. “Sorry. Sorry. Didn’t think you’d get so upset, geez, Dave. When did you turn all soft and sensitive?”  
  
“I have the heart of a maiden, John, you have to handle that shit with care else you’ll end up shattering it into a million pieces.” He puts his hand over his heart and clenches it, pretending to be wounded before sniffling a little and leaning his head on your shoulder. “Didn’t your Daddy ever teach you how to be a gentleman? Nah, instead you’re growing up to be an insensitive butthead that takes pleasure in destroying the hearts of blushing pure young virgins that are just waiting to be married off to only the most kind and gentle of men but instead only have their hearts crushed and in ruin after you’re done with them.”  
  
It makes you feel better that he’s starting to joke with you again, a telltale sign that things between you are still good. “Maybe I’d treat you nicer if you were actually a blushing maiden. Get off of me dude.” You push him a little but that just causes him to cling onto you.  
  
“Ouch. Who says I can’t be a maiden just because I have a dick?” He pretends to be offended, going so far as to do some fake sobbing. “I’m just as pretty as any other girl out there. In fact, I know tons of girls out there that would kill to look even half as beautiful as I do.”  
  
“Alright, fine! You are! Now get off of me!” You give him a few more pushes but he refuses to budge so eventually you reluctantly give up on prying him off of you. The closeness makes you uncomfortable and you try your best not to notice weird things, like how soft his hair is and the pleasantly fruity scent that wafts from it. “Daaaave, come on. The joke’s over.” You try again, squirming a little. “This is getting a little too gay for me.”  
  
He’s off of you in an instant, making a clicking sound of disapproval with his tongue. “You always gotta ruin everything don’t’cha Egbert?” He raises his brows at you. “S’not like any actions or anything can be considered gay anyway unless you were like, I don’t know, balls deep in some other guy’s ass and even then. You know what they say, s’not gay unless the balls are touching.”  
  
Again, you roll your eyes and shrug. Dave always gets a little too defensive when you make a comment like that but you honestly don’t think much of it since he is always finding the tiniest things to get all worked up about.  
  
After that conversation is dropped, the two of you spend the next couple of hours just hanging out as planned. You listen while Dave drops you some sick beats, and although it really isn’t your kind of music, it sound really nice anyway. Then you have your ass handed over to you on a silver platter during a few video game sessions and you make yourself a mental note to practice at home so that he doesn’t wipe the floor with you next time.  
  
Eventually your dad comes by to pick you up and Dave walks you out of the apartment. It’s strange since you felt like that’s the kind of thing to do if you were on a date or something but you guess that maybe he just wants to spend a few extra minutes with you since you guys were having such a blast, so you shrug it off.  
  
Your Dad asks you about what happened to your nose and your glasses, ever observant as always, and you make up some story about how you tripped over your own feet and fell down the stairs, landing face first. He believes it because why would his son ever lie to him and when has he done it before? Not to mention you’re sure clumsy enough for the story to be plausible.  
  
When you get home you eat dinner and head up to your room, logging onto your computer and chatting with Dave some more into the wee hours of the morning since you don’t have school the next day. You eventually fall asleep on him though, despite how hard you try to stay awake, with a tiny smile on your face because for the first time since you moved you feel like things are as they should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to be a little slower after this since I only have two more chapters left already written and I want to stretch them out. Thank you guys for reading so far u v u


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re seeing a lot more of Dave; it seems like every day after school you’re either at his apartment or he’s at your house. He even comes and sits down next to you during lunch sometimes and suddenly his locker is now right beside yours (or maybe it always has been and he’s never come to it until now) and it makes you really happy to know that he’s getting more comfortable around you.

It’s smooth sailing for the next few weeks. As smooth as it can get anyway; there’s still that whole thing about being picked on and harassed every single school day, but for some reason it still doesn’t get you down. Annoyed and angry sometimes, sure, but your self-esteem has stayed the same from what you can tell. You feel like your dad has caught on to what’s going on since you come home all the time with ridiculous excuses for your injuries and he isn’t stupid, he’s far from it, but he doesn’t question you. He gives you the whole ‘you can come to me with anything’ thing that parents always say when they know something’s going on with their kid, but honestly you don’t think that anyone past elementary school actually goes to their parents with their problems especially when it comes to bullying.  
  
You’re seeing a lot more of Dave; it seems like every day after school you’re either at his apartment or he’s at your house. He even comes and sits down next to you during lunch sometimes and suddenly his locker is now right beside yours (or maybe it always has been and he’s never come to it until now) and it makes you really happy to know that he’s getting more comfortable around you. It means you can relax and stop worrying about your friendship already like a small part of you has since that day he ignored you. You figure that if he shared his little rambles and witty remarks with everyone else he’d actually be the cool kid he’s always trying to make himself out to be.  
  
“This is gonna be your fucking week, Egbert, ‘cause I just heard that Ms. Miller’s out with the flu and she always has the substitute play the same movie. National Treasure. Try not to pop a big one during class while Cage’s face is plastered all over the screen,” Dave mumbles to you while you’re both getting stuff from your lockers for the next class.  
  
You can’t help but roll your eyes. “Please, just because I appreciate how _awesome_ he is as an actor doesn’t mean I have the hots for him. I don’t swing that way, and if I did it wouldn’t be for Nic Cage,” You retort. It’s hard to tell with those shades covering the half of his face but you’re sure that he’s looking at you like he doesn’t believe a word you say because that’s always how he reacts when you say something like that. He doesn’t comment on it though, instead he just closes his locker and heads off for class ahead of you.  
  
There’s still a few minutes left until class actually starts so you take your time organizing your books in your locker and making sure that it doesn’t get messy. There’s a certain sense of pride and accomplishment from being neat that you probably picked up from your father. You think about this as you feel a tap on your shoulder and you turn your head around to see a kid that you never really talked to, but you easily recognize him. He’s one of the lucky few that shares the pleasure of getting the crap beaten out of him every day. His name is Thomas (at least you think it is), and he’s this really tall clumsy kid that seems to be stuttering or stumbling over his words all the time.  
  
“Um, excuse me but I was just wondering… Are you friends with that Dave kid?”  
  
“Well, yeah, we’ve been friends for a long time actually.” It’s really weird that he’s just coming out of nowhere to ask you about being friends with Dave like it matters to him, but you have nothing better to do than to indulge him while you’re getting ready.  
  
“Oh. I know that it’s really not my place but, you shouldn’t hang around him that much. He’s got a reputation, that one. I know you get picked on too and, if you think you have it bad now, oh boy. I don’t want that to happen, so, yeah.” He seems to be genuinely worried, his big brown eyes bulging as he glances around the hallway nervously.  
  
The words were enough to get your interest piqued because you can’t say that you haven’t been wondering what Dave’s deal is; you still haven’t forgotten the way he freaked at you the first time you were at his apartment. And here this kid is, literally handing out this golden opportunity to find out on a silver platter. You’re glad you didn’t choose to brush him off. “What kind of reputation?”  
  
“Oh yeah, I guess you really didn’t know since you’re really new here. Rumor has it that he’s, a, uh, he’s a fag and that he came here from another school, because he got caught in the stairway with another guy. It’s just a rumor, but everyone’s heard it.” Thomas shyly looks directly into your eyes as he spoke softly, his brows furrowed and looking uncomfortable with the subject but he continues speaking anyway, “And ‘round here, anyone that gets all buddy-buddy with a fag, might as well be one himself. ‘Cause you know, you are who your friends are.”  
  
“What?” You shoot him a look, not sure what to make of his words and he immediately raises his hands up.  
  
“If I offended you with that, I’m sorry. It’s not what I think, personally, but that’s how practically everyone does in this school. I can guarantee it.” He gazes down and shifts one foot to the other. “I just wanted to warn you, geeks like us get it bad for sure, but gays have it worse. I’ll see you later, in class, I guess.”  
  
Without giving you time to respond, Thomas walks quickly away. You let him go because you have to close your locker before you can head to class and you have a lot to think about anyway. Of course you know better than to believe rumors that go around, especially when they’re concerning your best friend. Dave isn’t gay, he really couldn’t be and you think you’ve talked to him long enough that if he was into dicks or whatever that you above anyone else would know. Scratch that, you’d be the first to know. He isn’t like that and that’s that, but if it’s what everyone at school thinks then maybe that’s why Dave was so reluctant at first to be seen with you.  
  
It’s really sweet when you think about it, that he would do that to protect you. You find yourself smiling as you walk down the hallway toward the classroom with a warm fuzzy feeling in your chest.  
  
As it turns out, Dave is right about Ms. Millers and you spend the next class enjoying one of your favorite movies. During it you have a note flicked at your head and you open it to see Dave’s chicken scratch telling you that he can’t hang out after school today and that he’s got some important shit to do that he forgot to tell you about. You can’t say you’re not a little disappointed. You’ll just catch him tomorrow then; it’d be weird if you get hung up over one day of not hanging out when you spend so much time with him as it is.  
  
When school finishes you expect to at least exchange a few words with him at the lockers before you guys part ways, but he quickly disappears and you catch a glimpse of him sneaking out the back exit. Without thinking you go to follow him because that got you really curious, like what is he going to do that he doesn’t want anyone to know about?  
  
He walks really fast and it’s hard to believe how much he can move in this sweltering heat, especially with the long sleeves and hot pants that he’s always wearing. It’s tough for you to even imagine that even someone like him that was born and raised in temperatures this high can pull something like that off without falling over and collapsing or something.  
  
You lose track of how long you’ve been walking and a few times along the way you wonder if you should just give up and let Dave be, as you’re sure he won’t be too happy if he finds out you’ve been stalking him like some kind of creep. Your feet do that thing, however. That thing where even though you kinda want to stop and turn around they just keep on doing the walking for you like they have a mind of their own and you’re helpless to stop it. Finally Dave turns into an alleyway and when you peek around the corner of the building you can tell that you’ve reached your destination. But what’s he doing there? The only times you can think of anyone purposefully going to shady places like that was to do or sell drugs.  
  
There’s another boy there and he turns when he sees Dave. This kid is one you’ve never seen before. He’s pretty short, no not pretty short, really _really_ short to the point where you wonder if he’s some kind of midget. There are also bags under his bloodshot eyes so you’re starting to think that your guess about drugs involvement is right.  
  
“Oh fucking finally!! Jesus fucking dicks Strider and here I thought you were going to stand me up, do you have any idea how long I’ve been standing around here waiting for your sorry ass to show up?!” The kid hisses, his voice raspy. Yep, he’s definitely a druggie.  
  
Dave says something in response but since he’s far away and his voice isn’t as ridiculously loud as the drug addict’s you have a hard time making out exactly what he’s saying. “… take some … breaths … Kane, before you … brain aneurysm … always …. worked up about the tiniest … freak-out … can just never please … ?”  
  
“Oh my god, each time you part those puffy girly lips of yours I’m reminded of how much I want to rip your fucking throat out and shove it up yours ass so that I don’t have to have my ears constantly infested with the crap that you never fail to spew out!”  
  
“Think I know something … if you wanna shut me up … correspond … what we came … do in the first place.”  
  
It takes you by surprise when Kane the drug addict suddenly grabs Dave and yanks him down by his shirt and you’re about to jump in there and give your friend a hand in case he’s going to get beat up or something but nothing can prepare you for what they do next. You watch stunned as their lips smash together. Oh…. _Oh_.  
  
For a moment you think, or you rather hope, that Dave’s gonna push the short guy away and scream something like ‘what the fuck, dude’ but your stomach does all sorts of flip flops as he kisses him back with a hunger in him that you’ve never seen before. The sound of their labored breathing fills your ears and all you can do is grip onto the side of the building, unable to tear yourself from the sight.  
  
There’s some heavy tongue action as Dave starts to grind down onto Kane and you hear him make noises that you’ve never heard outside of porno. The sound of the shorter boy’s zipper being pulled down is painfully loud to you and as soon as you see Dave fall onto his knees you’re broken out of your stupor and you turn away, knowing what comes next and not thinking that you’d be able to handle it.  
  
What Thomas said earlier rang truer than anything you’ve ever known at this moment; Dave Strider, your best friend, is gay and has a penchant for other dude’s dicks. There’s no way you can deny it now and it makes you so sick you feel like you’re going to vomit at any given moment as you wobble away from the scene. You can taste the bile at the back of your throat. A few adults that you pass by stop to ask if you’re okay and you feebly nod your head despite how it couldn’t be farther from the truth.  
  
Somehow you manage to get home in one piece, and when your dad asks you how your day is you ignore him and opt to stumble up the stairs to the sanctity of your room where nothing can touch you or bother you if you don’t want it to. That’s not even true though, because as you lay down on your bed the truth you discovered gnaws at you.

A good chunk of the shock has subsided and by now you just have all these thoughts swimming through your head. The most prominent one being why didn’t he tell you? Isn’t something as huge as being gay something that you tell your best friend? You don’t know if it bothers you more that all this time he never told you or the fact itself. It’s still hard to imagine that Dave is one of those kind of people, you really didn’t expect it. You spent so much time alone with him too and just the thought brings the nausea back, causing you to shudder visibly from how repulsive and gross it all is to you.  
  
Maybe it’s time for you to avoid him. Just until you can get your head straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! i feel proud for getting another chapter out.. some of the characters introduced in this chapter are probably going to ring a few bells. I put some thought into whether or not I was going to fit humanized trolls into this but I needed some kids to help move things along and they fit in nicely. They're going to be relatively minor characters though so don't expect to see much more of them.. anyway thank you for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Daaave….” His name escapes your lips, your voice shaky and high pitched and so foreign to your own ears it feels like someone else is speaking for you.

The room is dim like one of those cheesy scenes in a romance when you just know the actors are about to get it on. It never occurred to you until this moment why, but somehow having only enough light to make out your partner is strangely erotic. Your fingers are going through those silky soft strands of blonde hair and Dave, Dave… He has your cock throbbing in his hand in time to your heartbeat, his lips pressed teasingly to the tip and you want it so bad that you can’t help but let a breathy whine escape your lips.

At this he smirks like a total _asshole_ but in swift movements he has your foreskin pulled back and the swollen head of your dick in his mouth and oh god you never knew it would feel like _that_. It’s so hot and wet and Dave’s doing things with his tongue that you can’t describe even if you try but it feels so _good_ that you wish you could.

“Daaave….” His name escapes your lips, your voice shaky and high pitched and so _foreign_ to your own ears it feels like someone else is speaking for you.

You’re rewarded for the sound as Dave takes more and more of you into his mouth and you do all you can not to thrust into it despite how hard it is. Despite how much you need it and how much your body craves more. Your gaze is on his face and you see his cheeks are flared up and he’s breathing hard through his nose. His expression doesn’t give it away but his eagerness to please you tells you that he has to be enjoying it. Why else would you blow someone if you didn’t like it?

Once he starts sucking you lose all your self-control, tilting your head back with your eyes squeezed shut as your hips snap forward. The waves of pleasure coursing through you are so overwhelming you’re surprised that you haven’t shot your load yet but you know that it’s coming; you can feel the heat and the pressure building up rapidly.

You try to fight it off (because it’s going to end too fast, and you didn’t want it to end period like if you could just go for an eternity with him sucking on your cock you would) and Dave seems to sense that because he starts working even harder. His sucks come harder and faster and he makes all these humming noises against your cock that sends vibrations through it like whoa. Despite how amazing it feels you try to move away, a desperate tone in your voice as you try to warn him how close you are but you’re unable to get all the words out as your dick becomes rigid under his attention. You’re going to cum and that’s it; you can’t hold it any longer-

The blaring of your alarm causes you to wake up with a start, your skin covered in a thin layer of sweat as your heart beats unpleasantly hard against your ribcage.  
  
You don’t even have to look down to know that you’ve shot your load into your boxers, as a boy starting to go through the wonders of puberty you’ve had your fair share of wet dreams by now. But none of them have ever involved another guy before, let alone your best friend.

It’s okay, it doesn’t mean anything. You’re sure that it all has to do with what you saw the day before and nothing to do with a sudden interest in guys sucking your dick. That has to be it because there’s no way witnessing that would unlock some hidden gayness in you because you’re still certain that boobs and girl parts are god’s finest creations. No matter how many times you try to keep calm about it though, you can’t stop yourself from freaking the fuck out on the inside and your stomach’s already tied itself into a bajillion knots. What a great way to start your morning.

You eventually pull yourself out of bed, the cum in your boxers is drying and the feeling of it is really gross and nasty, even more so than usual, so before you do anything else getting that grime cleaned up is a must. You go into the bathroom and peel off your boxers to toss them into the hamper; you aren’t concerned with hiding the evidence since you’ve already had that talk with your dad eons ago. As you scrub yourself you feel dread building up inside of you, you really don’t want to go to school now. Dave’s face is the last thing you want to see, there’s enough of it flashing through your mind as it is. You don’t want to talk to him either; you won’t know what to say.

The smell of breakfast being made draws you down to the kitchen after you’re done washing up and you poke your head in because you haven’t even made any steps toward getting ready and you feel weird and a bit guilty for thinking about asking your dad to stay home. You aren’t sick and you don’t even have a good excuse. Like what are you supposed to tell him? That you don’t want to go to school because you saw Dave about to go down on another guy and you don’t want to face him now?

“Good morning, son. Sleep well?” 

You let out a soft sigh when you’re noticed before you can chicken out and just go back upstairs to get ready. “Not really,” you admit sheepishly as you step into the room, not point in hiding now, “I’m actually not feeling well today, Dad. Is it alright if I just stay home?” 

He turns toward you to appraise you and you expect him to put his hand over your forehead to check for fever but instead he just nods. “Of course you can.” He says it just like that. No questions asked. To say that you’re bewildered is an understatement but you know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Your father ushers you over to the table and serves you two eggs sunny side up with a heaping pile of home fries, a plate with a pile of toast already set down on the middle of the table. It’s one of your favorites, coincidentally, one that your dad only makes sparingly since it takes a lot of work and time to make.

While dad fries his own eggs he calls into office to take the day off from work despite your protests from the background that you’re thirteen already and that you can take care of yourself until he gets home. You feel guiltier than anything that he’s going so far as to take a day off to be with you when he really doesn’t have to. 

You chat idly with him while you’re both eating breakfast, he makes sure to keep the conversation lighthearted which is so relieving to you since it takes your mind off of things and you can relax, something you haven’t been able to do on your own. You’ll never admit it but it’s times like this that remind you of how great your dad is and how you probably should appreciate him more than you do. He always supports you when you need it.

When breakfast’s done the two of you just curl up on the couch and watch movies all day. It’s been a long time since you’ve spent so much time with your dad, recently you most you see him is at meals and when he’s picking you up and dropping you off. You didn’t realize that you missed being around him until now and how much he can comfort you even when you’re not saying anything. His presence alone says everything.

You fall asleep on and off during the films and feel restful after you’ve woken up for the last time, your father’s big warm hand on your shoulder shaking you gently. His voice is soft and tender as he coaxes you out of sleep and the whole thing is overfamiliar to you. You feel like a child again when he talks to you like that, and you don’t mind because you need to be babied right now. He asks you if you want to go out to eat for dinner and you groggily nod before you trudge up the stairs to your room to get ready.  
The doorbell rings while you’re finishing getting yourself dressed but you don’t concern yourself with it, focusing on looking nice since your dad only takes you to fancy places when you eat out. 

When you come down the stairs you have to stop mid-way as you see Dad talking to none other than the guy that caused you to stay home in the first place.

“Thank you for coming over David, it’s really considerate of you to go through the trouble of bringing John his assignments over here. I know it would’ve been easier to just send them to him online.” 

“I figured that if he didn’t come to school it was cause of something serious. I came to check in on him. Wanted to make sure for myself that he didn’t kick the bucket."  
  
You hear your dad chuckle as you slowly walked down the last of the steps and hang back; you didn’t want to be seen. It’s not long before you’re just staring at your dad’s back with a concentrated look on your face as you try to use mind powers that you know you don’t have to get him to send Dave away. You know you’re being dumb and childish but honestly you’d rather focus on that then the thought that your father was going to invite him inside any moment now.

“He’s just fine and I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you. We were actually about to go out for dinner, so you came at a good time..” Oh god. You hang onto the hope that somehow your dad will just know what you’re feeling and not do what you think he’s about to do. “How about you join us?” Aand it’s too late. Everything you thought about how cool and lucky you are to have a father like him you take back right away. He’s the lamest and worst parent you could ever ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger, gomen. I didn't plan it that way but after I finished writing this up I thought it would just be better to include the dinner in the next chapter..


End file.
